


How it should have ended

by Kammy



Category: Tokyo Ghoul
Genre: Gen, Root A alternate ending, contains sadness
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-04-02
Updated: 2015-04-02
Packaged: 2018-03-20 20:14:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 690
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3663480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kammy/pseuds/Kammy
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kaneki wakes up after the battle with Amon, only this time he's in Hide's warm arms.</p><p>(Or, another alternate ending to episode 12 of Root A)</p>
            </blockquote>





	How it should have ended

_THUMP._

_“Ah! Sorry, Kaneki… this is…h-hard… I guess I’m just useless, huh?”_

_Heavy breathing._

_“S’okay, s’okay… we can just… stay here. Like this._ ”

.

.

.

Warmth. A soft surface below him. A cool breeze through the sweat slicked strands of his hair. Something wrapped around him tightly.

He moved, only to find himself pressed to a heated mass. He should have pushed, jerked himself away but he was tired.

He halfheartedly tried to flick his eyelids open. Too heavy. Too heavy to do anything but sleep, sleep…

Warmth. Darkness. Bliss.

A soft voice whispered into his ear.

.

.

.

_“There’s a lot I wanted to tell you, y’know.”_

_Breathing slowing down._

_“I-I-I… I don’t even know where to start.”_

.

.

.

Warmth again. He thought of stirring, but didn’t. Instead he lay there.

A knot formed in his stomach. Something’s wrong. Something had happened. A battle. He’d been in trouble. He should be worried, should be getting up and doing something about it.

He stayed. His mind drifted.

.

.

.

_“I knew. I knew the entire time, y’know… Ever since Nishio beat the crap out of me.”_

_A deep breath._

_“I never minded. I was okay with you being a ghoul. I just…”_

_Another breath._

_“I wanted you to trust me. I wanted you to tell me. But you were so happy with everyone at Anteiku…g-gah.”_

.

.

.

It had been a battle. Amon Koutarou. That had been his opponents named. He’d been hurt, and hurt in return. Bad. He hadn’t wanted that. He hadn’t wanted to fight, but he had to because. Because he had to protect…

… _Anteiku._

He lurched.

.

.

.

 _“_ _You know… I guess I felt a little left out. I j-just wanted to keep being your friend… but you’d never tell me anything so… so… and then, Aogiri. I tried so hard to find you. Wanted to… help.”_

_The breath that interrupted it was too fast, like gasp._

_“I guess… I really couldn’t do anything on my own. Heh. Heheheheh…”_

_Another sharp breath. “You know, this probably looks so gay right now. Imagine what the CCG would think… finding us cuddling like this… Scandal!”_

.

.

.

Warmth, still. But now he could recognize the chill of winter breeze rushing over him. Pain bloomed in his side, an injury from the battle.

He winced. His eyes managed to flutter open heavily. White. Nothing but white beneath him. He tilted his head. More pain. His neck was stiff from the battle.

Warmth. Flesh.

Ah, there was a body over him.

.

.

.

_“I’m sorry. I wanted to bring you back to Anteiku, but I couldn’t even do that. I’m so… fucking weak. I’m sorry. I said that already, didn’t I?”_

_His breath caught._

_“I-I can’t…”_

.

.

.

He turned over. The body’s arms hung loosely around him. He made out a CCG uniform, a head of blond hair, and…

No. No way.

“H-Hide?”

Hide smiled, but didn’t hold him.

So that’s why it was warm. Hide was there. Hide was there, beside him, their bodies entwined together. He froze. His first instinct was to cover his eye, but instead his friend lightly bumped his forehead against his own.

“Yo, Kaneki,” he said, his voice a little low on its normal energy.

He remembered the whispers from before, vaguely made out words that had leaked to him in his sleep.

“Have you been talking to me this entire time?”

“Mhm… yeah…”

And for a moment, everything was fine. Quiet. Warm. Safe. Kaneki smiled.

Then, he smelled the blood.

.

.

.

_“K-Kaneki…? I can’t move… sorry… we’ll just have to… sit here in the snow. Ha. Ha.”_

_A pained hiss._

_“Gah… it hurts… it hurts…”_

.

.

.

“Hide? Oh my god, Hide!”

His arms were limp as Kaneki detached them. He didn’t even twitch as Kaneki checked his wound.

Blood. Blood everywhere. And no way for a human to survive such a wound. A chill ran through Kaneki’s body. He clutched Hide tighter, pulling him close.

“Sorry, sorry…” his friend muttered, “Sorry to put you through this…”

“Don’t,” Kaneki didn’t even know how to finish that sentence, so he babbled, “Don’t, don’t, don’t don’t— _don’t_ —!”

Hide died in the snow. In the tiny alley right outside Anteiku. In Kaneki’s arms.

**Author's Note:**

> Everyone kept saying "There's no way Hide could have carried Kaneki back to Anteiku with a wound like that!"
> 
> And you know that? They're right! So I wrote this alternate ending to make all the people that didn't like the ending happy.
> 
> ...What do you mean this isn't the happiness you wished for?


End file.
